September 24, 2009 · 1 Comment
We recently completed an entry to Social Designer’s 500 Pencils Competition. This competition entailed designing a case which can contain the 500 Pencil product and can be used for display, transportation, or storage.
We designed and prototyped our version of a case which can store, display, and transport all 500 pencils in our OpenSim regions behind our firewall using our development platform. Because the pencils arrive in twenty monthly allotments of 25 pencils each, we created a modular system which allows each new set of pencils to be easily added to the storage tower. The tower swings open at a central hinge at the back of the case, and closes with magnetic toggle closures. The pencils are arranged in a spiral carrier, which is slipped over a pin in the center of the tower for storage. A top plate is slipped on last, which completes the the tower hinge.
When we had completed the design and generated a factory ready technical production specification using Black Dress, we then exported the region as an OAR file, and sent it over to Science Sim for public viewing. You may visit “500 Pencils”, which is both an exemplary use of OpenSim for industrial design and prototyping, and a nifty bit of art, in Science Sim, in the Shengri La Pencil region. To visit, simply create an account at sciencesim.com, change the properties of your preferred viewer, and log in. then locate Shengri La on the world map to teleport directly there. Science Sim is hypergriddable for the grid nauts who prefer to just hop over.
O, and please vote for our design…it’s the only one designed in and prototyped using a virtual world, so it is already socially aware design!
Categories: Black Dress Technology · Content · Fashion Research Institute · Intel · OpenSim · Shengri La · Shenlei · Virtual World · art · design
Tagged: 500, design, pencils
September 15, 2008 · 2 Comments
In the first weeks of my Second Life™ experience, I met a generous, warm woman who became one of my best friends in this mad maze of pixels. Lexa Pietersen was an ardent supporter of my early efforts to establish myself as an avatar apparel designer, and her support extended beyond just saying nice things. She went so far as to buy land for me and carry the tier on it for my very first store. Because of her support, I was able to move on from my first 512 meter plot of land in the mainland to become one of the top earners in Second Life with my brand Prim & Proper and ultimately owner of the Shengri La islands and a substantial RL corporation.
It is now time for me to pay forward her kindness. To this end, my company, the Fashion Research Institute, Inc., has developed the Shengri La Vintage Marketplace on Shengri La. We will provide vendor space for 20 emerging avatar apparel designers on our Second Life Shengri La sim for six months free of charge. The designers are encouraged to build their brands, to sell their products through both their vendor prims and through the use of our catwalk system, and to grow their business. We hope that by providing these designers with incubation space on the beautiful Shengri La sims, that they will be able to grow their business to the point that they can acquire an appropriate flagship store elsewhere on the grid when their tenure with us is up.
We are pleased to announce Michele Hyacinth as Curator of the Shengri La Vintage Marketplace for emerging avatar apparel designers in Second Life. Michele is responsible for managing the design selection process and overseeing the marketplace. For more information and details about the program, please contact Michele. You may also visit the Shengri La sims and pick up information from any of the Marketplace boards. To apply, send Michele a notecard with your name and best time to contact you in Second Life. Include a couple of sentences about the work you’re doing or hoping to do, and if you have any snapshots, add those to the notecard too. Then send it along to Michele, and she’ll be in touch!
Best of luck to you, and may your dreams come true!
~Shenlei Winkler
CEO
Fashion Research Institute, Inc.
Acting CEO
Black Dress Technology, Inc.
Shenlei Flasheart in SL
Michele Hyacinth
“Michele Hyacinth rezzed in November 2006. Her first venture into the virtual world quickly led her to ballroom gowns and flexi hair and an immediate hankering for SL fashion. She also soon discovered a penchant for talented people of integrity, whose artistry she greatly admires. She loves sharing SL adventures with treasured loved ones and friends. She enjoys exploring the grid and, of course, dancing and listening to good music. Michele is particularly fond of the hidden surprises in SL…those paths that are less travelled but that contain fascinating finds. In her spare time, she dabbles in photography, blogging, and very minor prim-wrangling (all skills she hopes to develop more fully). She sketches portraits, which she brings inworld and shares with those she loves. Although not rezzed yesterday, she can probably best be described by lyrics from a John Haitt song: “a child of the wild blue yonder.” Michele continues to learn and to grow; to be surprised and to be delighted. She treasures this wonderful opportunity to work with Shenlei, and to collaborate with cherished and like-minded souls in the Shengri La community.”
Categories: Black Dress Technology · Fashion Research Institute · Shengri La · art · avatar apparel · fashion · micronation · secondlife
Tagged: catwalk, design, emerging, fashion show, michele hyacinth, runway, vintage marketplace
